1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus and methods for intelligently generating and managing logical units (LUNs) in a storage network environment.
2. Background of the Invention
Storage networks, such as storage-area-networks (SANs), are network architectures used to connect servers (also referred to herein as “host systems”) to storage systems such as disk arrays, tape libraries, and the like. These storage networks are often heterogeneous, meaning that the host systems and storage systems in the network may be manufactured by different vendors and/or use different operating systems or applications. Each host system in the storage network may be configured to access one or more logical units (LUNs) residing on one or more storage systems. As the number of host systems and/or storage systems in the storage network increases, the number of LUNs in the storage network can increase dramatically. This can make generating and managing LUNs in the storage network a time-consuming, complex, confusing, and error-prone process.
For example, consider a heterogeneous storage network test environment that includes one hundred host systems and ten storage systems. To ensure that each host system is interoperable with each storage system in the network, I/O may be performed between each host system and storage system. This may require creating one or more LUNs for each host system and storage system pair. To implement the above-described scenario where there are one hundred host systems and ten storage systems, at least one thousand (10×100) LUNs may be needed to test the interoperability of each host system with each storage system. Creating and managing this large number of LUNs can be a laborious, error-prone process.
Furthermore, if a problem or error occurs between a specific host system and storage system, the large number of LUNs (each of which may have an arbitrary name) can make tracing and debugging the problem a laborious and time-consuming process. For example, tracing and debugging the problem can involve gathering technical information associated with a LUN name listed in a system log, trace, or GUI. This can involve sifting through tables, examining storage-manager GUI references, and conducting other research to determine technical information about the LUN. Such technical information may include, for example, what server is using the LUN, which storage system is hosting the LUN, what the LUN is used for, whether the LUN is real or virtual, and so forth. Gathering the technical information can make the debug process a time-consuming and laborious process.
In view of the foregoing, what are needed are apparatus and methods to more efficiently generate and manage logical units (LUNs) in a storage network environment. Further needed are apparatus and methods to more efficiently debug problems or errors that occur between a host system and storage system in a storage network environment. Yet further needed are apparatus and methods to more efficiently gather technical information about LUNs in a storage network environment. Such apparatus and methods would be useful in both test and production environments.